Latest KFF Health News Stories
Medicare Providers Say They Lose Millions Due To Excessive Audits
Health care providers say they’re losing millions that are tied up in appeals because of the increasing number of Medicare audits. Meanwhile, the trade group representing family physicians complains about Congress’ failure to fix Medicare’s outdated physician payment formula.
Those With Mental Illness Face 80% Unemployment
But, the report says that while 60 percent of those with mental illnesses want to work, only 2 percent of people in the public mental health system get help to find work.
Prisons Cut Health Care Costs, But Aging Inmate Population Threatens Budgets
Elsewhere, a lawsuit alleging bad medical care at a Virginia women’s prison is delayed by institution of a new provider to give that care.
McConnell Counters Medicare Ad With One Of His Own
Also, the Washington Post fact-checks another ad which positions Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., as a key Obamacare opponent and claims the health law increased insurance premiums 50 percent.
Wall Street Seeks Big Bang From Urgent Care
Urgent care has mushroomed into an estimated $14.5 billion business, as investors try to profit from changes in health care, reports The New York Times. Meanwhile, beginning in September, patients will be able to check whether their doctors have accepted gifts, payments and other services worth $10 or more from drug and medical device makers and suppliers.
Democrats Introduce Legislation To Undo High Court’s Hobby Lobby Decision
With only a limited calendar to work with, Democrats view this push as an important aspect of the 2014 congressional campaign.
Insurers Test New Payment Models For Health Care Providers
The patient-centered medical homes model, which has been the hallmark of one such experiment by CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, is among the approaches receiving attention for reducing costs and reducing hospitalizations.
State Highlights: Fight Over New Ga. Trauma Center; San Francisco Premiums Expected To Drop
A selection of health policy stories from New York, Georgia, California, Iowa, Colorado and North Carolina.
Are Insurers Using Drug Tiers To Cherrypick Healthier Enrollees?
Critics charge that some plans continue to discriminate against sick people by putting certain drugs in the highest-cost drug tiers, requiring consumers to pay big out-of-pocket expenses. Meanwhile, critics and supporters of the law wait anxiously for a court decision on a challenge to the health law’s subsidies.
Viewpoints: Turning To New Legal Challenges To ACA; Is The Law Working?; Medicaid Problems In N.C.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
Longer Looks: Doctors’ Misunderstanding Of Test Results; The Medical Facts About Birth Control
This week’s studies come from BBC News, Reuters, The New Republic, MedPage Today and The Atlantic.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including health policy headlines from the marketplace, the campaign trail and regarding the health law’s implementation.
Congressional Democrats Push Legislation To Override Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby Decision
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., are expected to advance a bill Wednesday that would prevent companies from using a religious freedom law to avoid complying with the health law’s contraception coverage mandate.
VA Whistleblowers Testify About Retaliation
An independent federal agency is investigating 67 active complaints of employee retaliation at VA health facilities in 28 states, according to testimony before a House panel Tuesday.
Report Raises Concerns About Medicare Lab Billing
Medicare allowed $1.7 billion in payments to laboratories in 2010 for claims that raised red flags, according to a report by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General. Meanwhile, home health care and hospice provider Amedisys says the SEC’s probe of the company’s participation in Medicare led to no enforcement actions.
Study: No Evidence Hospitals Use Digital Records To Bilk Medicare
Concerns that hospitals are harnessing electronic health records to generate bigger revenues may be unfounded, according to a study published Tuesday. Meanwhile, NPR looks at how entrepreneurs are using technology to help older people manage their health.
Democrat Accuses Sen. McConnell Of Voting To Increase Medicare Beneficiaries’ Costs $6,000
Alison Lundergan Grimes makes the assertion in a campaign commercial, but analysts suggest that claim may not be right.
Minn. Home Health Care Workers File For Union Election
More than 26,000 are eligible to cast votes on whether to join the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), in one of the largest organizing drives in the state’s history.
Study On Cancer Care Offers Model For Possible Lower Spending On Treatment
The study, however, raised some questions because while it cut costs by a third and showed no decline in patient health, the spending on chemotherapy medications rose.
Calif. Small Businesses Can Keep Non-Conforming Health Plans Next Year
Elsewhere, a lawsuit accuses a big California insurer of deceptive enrollment practices, and consumers see that provider lists are often out-of-date and inaccurate.
